Zoox robotaxi launches in Las Vegas • Hacker News Board

Re: Zoox robotaxi launches in Las Vegas

#131

Post by jerlam » Wed, Sep 10, 2025, 6:11 PM UTC

I poked around on their site and read the press releases; Zoox seems to be limited to only pickups and dropoffs at a few set locations.

> Simply open the Zoox app to take a ride from several destinations on and around the Strip.

This puts it dramatically behind Waymo where I can walk out on any block in the coverage area and tell it to take me to any other block in the coverage area, not to mention Uber and Lyft.

I'm sure Zoox can improve this, but right now it resembles a self-driving shuttle more than a taxi service.

Re: Zoox robotaxi launches in Las Vegas

#132

Post by octernion » Wed, Sep 10, 2025, 6:13 PM UTC

paulnpace wrote: post #123

octernion wrote: post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

heartless society is when someone has to wait at a red light for a few more seconds. and yes, enumerating a set of silly non-law "rules" you expect drivers on the road to follow is the definition of entitlement.

> heartless society is when someone has to wait at a red light for a few more seconds. and yes, enumerating a set of silly non-law "rules" you expect drivers on the road to follow is the definition of entitlement. Many of the traffic lights in this valley are more than 5 minutes per cycle. You are completely naive to the facts of the discussion you have entered. Please quote my above comment where I stated my expecta…

oh the humanity, maybe on the order of a few minutes. that changes nothing. we should be inconveniencing human drivers more, if anything.

that you feel obligated to use words like "sophistry" tells me everything i need to know about you.

Re: Zoox robotaxi launches in Las Vegas

#133

Post by jerlam » Wed, Sep 10, 2025, 6:13 PM UTC

jewel wrote: post #52

The front-to-back symmetry is interesting. It may cause some confusion for other drivers, in some limited circumstances, when they can't tell which way the vehicle is facing. It appears, based on my study of the footage on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIRW8bfy4kE , that it could possibly switch which side is the front and the back by just changing the color of the lights. With RGB LEDs that would be pretty easy to…

I wonder if there are barf bags for the backwards-facing passengers.

Re: Zoox robotaxi launches in Las Vegas

#134

Post by Zigurd » Wed, Sep 10, 2025, 6:14 PM UTC

martythemaniak wrote: post #11

What's interesting is that about 80% Tesla's entire valuation is FSD and Optimus, and the underlying assumption with FSD is that it'll magically turn on for all Tesla's in a day and they'll have a monopoly and extract all the profit needed for that valuation. Apart from any comparisons with Waymo, I suspect self-driving will broadly follow other AI tech, where we'll see a proliferation of competitive self-driving tec…

I would bet against the imminent commodification of autonomous vehicle technology. Way too early. No consensus on the technology approach.

Here's a speculative but plausible take: Zoox and Waymo are both products of cloud computing and data gathering giants. Maybe that's the important factor.

Re: Zoox robotaxi launches in Las Vegas

#135

Post by AnimalMuppet » Wed, Sep 10, 2025, 6:14 PM UTC

fyrn_ wrote: post #88

micromacrofoot wrote: post #21

the solution for self-driving cars is obviously for everyone to move to a gridded city in the desert

If you're trying to imply Vegas is and easy place to drive.. Well I suggest trying it. It's a nightmare of 6-8 lane mega streets , multi tier traffic junctions, and high seed limits with poor signage and markings.

The absolute worst I have seen was teeing into The Strip at the old Stardust Hotel. The Stardust was two blocks long, ten stories high, and covered in neon. And somewhere in the middle of that wall of neon was one little light that was either red, yellow, or green. The light was not brighter than the neon.

Re: Zoox robotaxi launches in Las Vegas

#136

Post by Zigurd » Wed, Sep 10, 2025, 6:16 PM UTC

PhunkyPhil wrote: post #126

addaon wrote: post #107

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The issue isn't that the act of driving is a laborious task Said like someone who doesn't have elderly parents, and doesn't plan to age…

FSD is not being marketed as an aide for elderly people or those with disabilities, it's being marketed as a panacea for all driving related problems

FSD isn't a complete product. Somehow they got away with selling an early beta for thousands of dollars. Zoox, despite an objectively odd priority on building a purpose built vehicle, became a generally available product ahead of FSD. That should be shameful.

Re: Zoox robotaxi launches in Las Vegas

#137

Post by Zigurd » Wed, Sep 10, 2025, 6:18 PM UTC

slt2021 wrote: post #87

lazyasciiart wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That doesn’t do anything except let the taxi go out of service until someone cleans it - assuming that it would identify vomit without waiting for customers to complain after they sit in it.

this is a trivial problem, same way rental car companies solved it: 1. operator or computer vision detects dirt in salon 2. route the autonomous vehicle to contracted carwash 3. return car back to service 4. charge customer for the cleanup

Waymo has contracted with car rental companies to provide cleaning and inspection services.

Re: Zoox robotaxi launches in Las Vegas

#138

Post by Zigurd » Wed, Sep 10, 2025, 6:22 PM UTC

bighead1 wrote: post #30

giancarlostoro wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How so? You realize there are people who cannot legally drive for whom a robotaxi is a life changing achievement?

Why wouldn't they just take a taxi driven by a human? Or a bus (also driven by a human)?

The CEO of Uber claims that Waymo vehicles complete more rides per day than 99% of human Uber drivers. They work 24/7 minus charging and cleaning time. If that 99th percentile number holds up, Waymo serves the same number of customers with a small fraction of the number of vehicles.

Re: Zoox robotaxi launches in Las Vegas

#139

Post by AnimalMuppet » Wed, Sep 10, 2025, 6:24 PM UTC

ARandumGuy wrote: post #25

barbazoo wrote: post #2

It’s a cute gimmick for tourists but it won’t contribute to public transportation.

The fact that there isn't a rail line from the airport to the strip is wild. It would simplify travel for tourists dramatically, and get a lot of hotel shuttles and taxis off the street. There's a reason why even cities with bad public transit usually have a line to the airport, and it's wild that Las Vegas doesn't have one.

"The strip" isn't one place. It's several miles long. It's not walkable for people with luggage. To do what you propose, you'd have to not just build it to the strip, but along the strip, which is a whole different problem. There's not a lot of space to build a rail line there. It would have to be a block or two away at best. And then, well, the stuff on the other side of the strip is now three blocks away. For people with luggage. In 105 degree heat in August, or in sandstorms, or sometimes in snow.

Re: Zoox robotaxi launches in Las Vegas

#140

Post by OkayPhysicist » Wed, Sep 10, 2025, 6:28 PM UTC

PhunkyPhil wrote: post #59

martythemaniak wrote: post #11

What's interesting is that about 80% Tesla's entire valuation is FSD and Optimus, and the underlying assumption with FSD is that it'll magically turn on for all Tesla's in a day and they'll have a monopoly and extract all the profit needed for that valuation. Apart from any comparisons with Waymo, I suspect self-driving will broadly follow other AI tech, where we'll see a proliferation of competitive self-driving tec…

I think self-driving targets a problem that doesn't really exist. The issue isn't that the act of driving is a laborious task, it's simply the amount of time spent in a car, which FSD doesn't address.

It absolutely targets a problem that exists. Even in places with pretty great public transit, there is some demand for taxis/Uber/etc. Oftentimes even moreso, because if I don't need a car for 90% of trips, I might not have a car at all. So I use an Uber or a taxi when a certain trip demands it.

By far the worst part about said Ubers and Taxis is the driver. They're an unpredictable element in a situation where I greatly appreciate predictability. Unlike my parents, I didn't grow up with staff, so I'm not used to simply pretending this person I'm sharing a space with doesn't exist. Instead, I need to navigate the fuzzy line between courtesy and service.

Waymos have none of this shit. They're clean, show up when they say they will, I can play my own music, adjust the air conditioning, and have obnoxious conversations with my friends. They drive safely, and, as a cherry on top, they're cool as hell.